Nowadays, social media is being used regularly by youngsters as well as by elders. Although, it helps them to perform various activities such as surfing for a piece of information, it possesses risks such as theft of identity and cyber bullying.
On the one hand, with social media fast long-distance communication is possible which helps people from across the world to talk or text their friends and family members. For example, whatsapp is a famous mobile app with which a native person can call his cousin who currently lives in a foreign country. Also, friends can be made easily by just sending a message to a person who might be a stranger. For instance, a student who does not have friends in school can use social media platforms such as Facebook to make new friends. This can help students to overcome depression which might have occurred due to loneliness during school hours.
On the other hand, talking with strangers can have adverse effects such as identity theft that can seriously damage the image of a person in the society. If a stranger collects information of an individual, he has the capability to forge the victims documents and might even use it for his own purpose. According to research by Harvard University, one out of ten teenagers are found to be victims to personal information theft. Also, cyber bullying such as fat shamming a person is a major issue in these platforms which could lead to mental health problems.
In conclusion, even though social media helps in global communication and to make friends, it has various drawbacks which makes its usage dangerous. In my opinion, the demerits over weighs the merits. The government should organize awareness programs to teach safe usage of social media in schools and colleges.